When patients with a perplexing new immunodeficiency disorder began to
appear at the NIH Clinical Center in the early 80s, a new nurse on the
staff, Barbara Fabian Baird, volunteered to care for them. As one of the
first nurses to work with individuals with HIV, she helped develop safety
guidelines for AIDS patient care.

In 1983, she became one of the first nurses doing HIV/AIDS research.
Dr. Henry Masur hired her to assist with his and Dr. Clifford Lane's AIDS
research studies. Besides seeing HIV/AIDS patients in the clinic, she
drew blood, performed lab work, managed study data on a computer database,
and educated nurses around the country on the care of AIDS patients. Lacking
an office for the first two years, she worked out of a cart that she wheeled
through the halls. At a time when nurse researchers were uncommon, Ms.
Baird was included as an author on many important scientific papers.

“To be on the cutting edge of science, characterizing a new disease
and working with brilliant investigators was a fascinating learning experience,” she says. However, the job did come with certain risks. Despite following
the guidelines, she was accidentally stuck with needles from AIDS patients
three times. Although she was not infected with HIV, one needlestick did
leave her with a sub-clinical case of hepatitis.

Ms. Baird continued to work with Dr. Masur as a nurse researcher until
she retired from the NIH in 2000. Currently, she is employed as the Director
of HIV/AIDS Services for Cobb County in Marietta, Georgia.